MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            17 August 2000                 
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR2000036156

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. W. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Sherri V. Ward		Chairperson	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member	
	Ms. Linda D. Simmons		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  In effect, that the Distinguished Service Medal not be deleted from his record and that he be awarded the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he has the Distinguished Service Cross issued by the Army. The Distinguished Service Medal is on his discharge and it is going to be deleted.  He contends also that he is entitled to the Purple Heart but never received it.

In support of his request, he has provided his own statement in which he says he received the Distinguished Service Medal for having a clean record for almost     5 years of service and being a squad leader in combat for 5 months.  He believes that he is entitled to the Purple Heart for severe athletes foot that turned into gangrene which hospitalized him for 10 days and almost resulted in the loss of his foot.  He has also provided copies of award certificates showing that he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and two Bronze Star Medals.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

He was inducted on 15 May 1941 and served in the European Theater of Operation from January 1945 to December 1945 as an infantry squad leader with Company C, 315th Infantry, 79th Infantry Division.  He was honorably discharged at demobilization on 15 December 1945 in the grade of staff sergeant.

His awards include the Bronze Star Medal (based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge), the Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 2 Bronze Service Stars, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal (Germany) the World War II Victory Medal, the World War II Honorable Service Lapel Button, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Presidential Unit Citation and the Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar.  His Enlisted Record and Report of Separation (WD AGO Form 53-55) also shows that he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

The WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award, and item 34 (wounds received in action) of the form contains the entry “none”.

On 12 January 1948 the applicant was informed by The Department of the Army (apparently in response to his request) that no recommendation for or verification of the Distinguished Service Medal for him could be substantiated.

On 24 November 1986 the US Army Military Personnel Center (MILPERCEN), Awards Branch, informed the applicant that no evidence could be found in his records to show that he had been recommended for or awarded the Medal of Honor.  The reply went on to advised him that in reviewing his records it had been determined that there was no record of his having been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal reflected on his WD AGO Form 53-55.   To correct this error, MILPERCEN directed that a DD Form 215 (Correction of DD Form 214) be issued deleting the Distinguished Service Medal from his discharge document.

On 22 December 1987, MILPERCEN directed the US Army Reserve Personnel Center to issue a DD Form 215 correcting the applicant’s discharge document by deleting the Distinguished Service Medal and adding the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.  The correction was issued on 10 November 1999.

On 27 April 1988 the applicant was issued a Distinguished Service Cross Certificate for Extraordinary Heroism in Action during World War II, and  on          17 December 1987 and 27 April 1988 he was issued Bronze Star Medal Certificates for meritorious service during World War II.

Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

Army Regulation 600-45, Decorations, the awards regulation in effect during the World War II period, states that the Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to members of the armed forces who, while serving in any capacity with the Army, distinguish themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility.  The regulation further provides that the Distinguished Service Medal may be awarded by the War Department only.

The Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, DA Pamphlet    672-1 lists units which were awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (now the Presidential Unit Citation) during World War II.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  The available records contain no evidence to show that the applicant was injured as a result of enemy action during World War II.  Assuming that his statement concerning the severity of his athlete’s foot condition is factual, and there is no evidence of it in the record, the condition still would not qualify for award of the Purple Heart because the injury was not a directly result of combat with the enemy.  Even though an injury may be received in a combat zone if it is not attributable to an act of the enemy it is not considered a wound received in action and does not entitle the individual to the Purple Heart.

2.  DA Pamphlet 672-1 shows that the applicant’s unit of assignment, the 315th Infantry Regiment, was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for the period     9 through 20 January 1945.  This significant award, now called the Presidential Unit Citation, should have been entered on his WD AGO Form 53-55 at the time of his separation but does not appear on the document; however, the Distinguished Service Medal does.  It appears that an error was made at the time his discharge document was prepared by indicating that he was entitled to the Distinguished Service Medal when in fact it should have shown he was authorized the Distinguished Unit Citation.  The lack of evidence in the record and the high level of approval for the Distinguished Service Medal – The War Department – lends credence to the fact that entry of the Distinguished Service Medal on his discharge document was strictly an administrative error.

3.  While not intending to demean in any way the significance of the applicant’s performance during World War II, it is highly unlikely that the Distinguished Service Medal, which is awarded for performance of “a duty of great responsibility”, would be an appropriate award for an infantry squad leader.  The MILPERCEN decided that the award should be deleted from the applicant’s discharge document because of lack of evidence to support it.  While this Board is not accustomed to making an applicant worse off than he was when he petitioned the Board, we can find no basis in this case to challenge the action taken by the MILPERCEN.

4.  After a thorough review of the applicant’s records it appears that he is entitled to the following awards: the Bronze Star Medal (based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge) the Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 2 Bronze Service Stars, the Army of Occupation Medal (Germany) the World War II Victory Medal, the World War II Honorable Service Lapel Button the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Presidential Unit Citation (formerly the Distinguished Unit Citation) and the Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar.  The record contains no evidence to show that he is entitled to two Bronze Star Medals.  All of these awards were issued to him on the Authorization for Issuance of Awards sent to him on 27 April 1988 and 10 May 1999.

5.  A final concern that remains a mystery in this case is how (why) the applicant was issued a Distinguished Service Cross Certificate.  There is no evidence in the record that he was ever recommend for such an award and his statement in which he says he should receive it for having a clean record for almost 5 years of service and being a squad leader in combat for 5 months certainly does not warrant such a heroism award.  In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it appears that the Distinguished Service Cross Certificate was issued in error and there are no grounds to have this award reflected on his discharge document.

6.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__svw___  __mhm __  ___lds __  DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000036156	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000815	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  107.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.